2020 Kia Telluride wants to pick a fight with the Toyota Land Cruiser

ADVERTISEMENT

Kiaa takes on full-size SUV crowd with Telluride

by Anton Andres

September 10, 2018 10:31

Remember the big Kia crossover spied a couple of months back? Well here it is, totally uncovered and making its official debut. Dubbed the Telluride, it's larger than the Sorento and it wants to pick a fight with the big boys, some of which include the Ford Expedition, Chevrolet Tahoe and the Toyota Land Cruiser.

Granted it's no full-frame, as it is a crossover, but the bold, boxy styling and large dimensions put it firmly in the full-size crossover SUV class. It's largely faithful to the Telluride concept shown years ago too. The wide grill and squared-off headlights are a testament to that and, to showcase its off-road chops, they even fitted it with a nudge bar, a brush guard and chunky all-terrain tires.

ADVERTISEMENT

The big and boxy theme continues on to the side. A broad shoulder line and tall windows emphasize the vehicle's large size. Body cladding surrounds the lower half of the Telluride, giving it a 'tougher' appearance. There's even a snorkel and a side-mounted step ladder to appeal to outdoorsy types.

While those features won't make it to showrooms, Kia is at least showing what you can do to their largest crossover yet. With its transition towards production complete, the road-going Telluride loses the coach doors and split tailgate. It does keep the upside-down, L-shaped tail lights of the concept, though.

Inside, the Telluride gets trimmed in leather and wood. From the top of the dash to the door panels, the big Kia gets luxurious touches throughout the cabin. Saddle brown leather wraps the dashboard, as well as the horn pad on the steering wheel. There's also ash wood on the dash fascia and the doors. The Telluride keeps up with today's trend of 'floating' infotainment screens, as seen in many cars today.

Kia has fully revealed the production-ready Telluride but aren't mentioning specifications just yet. However, they did mention that it will be getting a V6 engine. As to what the figures are, it is still unknown at the time of writing. It could either be the naturally-aspirated 3.8-liter mill with 303 PS or the twin-turbocharged 3.3-liter unit with 365 PS.